The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The US government, through its Department of Defense (DOD), has donated four new Toyota Land Cruiser ambulances with a container of spare parts to the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF).
These vehicles were donated as part of the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APPRP) program to enhance the UPDF’s regional peacekeeping capability.
They were handed over UPDF’s Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Center (URDCC) in Jinja on July 1 by US Senior Defense Official/Defense Attache, Colonel Edward Dupont, representing the U.S. Embassy. The URDCC Commandant, Brigadier General Peter Omola, represented the UPDF during the sign over ceremony.
As a temporary deployment in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the URDCC plans to send the donated Toyota Land Cruiser ambulances to Bombo to join their already deployed U.S.-provided mobile field hospital.
The rapid deployment of this mobile hospital and associated medical personnel in March 2020 demonstrated the effectiveness of the Uganda-U.S. peacekeeping training partnership. F
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Uganda-U.S. security partnership has continued, with phase one of the APRRP program still on track to be completed by December 2020.
The U.S. government has contributed approximately $47 million worth of equipment and training to the URDCC and the United States is committed to supporting Uganda’s rapid response peacekeeping capability in the coming years.
